Northern Ireland: Experts Reveal Alarming Figures -- Doctors See Huge Increase in Sexual Diseases

A new documentary, set to broadcast on Jan. 25, offers a behind-the-scenes look at the Royal Victoria Hospital's Genito-Urinary Medicine (GUM) clinic and details the rise in STDs in recent years in Northern Ireland.

According to data presented in "The Pox Doc," syphilis is up 142 percent, genital herpes 7 percent, genital warts 11 percent, chlamydia 12 percent, and gonorrhea 31 percent. The clinic treats more than 10,000 patients annually.

Internationally renowned sexual health expert Dr. Raymond Maw has worked at GUM for nearly 35 years. Despite a massive increase in STD infections and patients, Northern Ireland remains by far the worst-funded GUM clinic in the UK, he said.

Also featured is Dr. Carol Emerson, who conducts outreach for high-risk males, visiting bathhouses and setting up a clinic at Belfast's Gay Pride festival. "Almost 50 percent of men we have seen have never had an HIV test before," she said. "That's shocking."

"The Pox Doc" will run on Tuesday on BBC One Northern Ireland; check local listings for times.

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